Is it common for a new engineer to mess up a lot on the job?

[SeductivePig]

I started as a power systems electrical engineer with no experience, at a small consulting firm. I tried to learn material on my own in college because our school had only one crappy course on power systems, but it wasn't enough. My position requires 1-2 years experience (I have none) - it's been 4 months almost and I find that there's still so much I don't know.

I have made MANY big mistakes on the job but my boss is still being patient. I stay late occasionally to try to finish work, I'm taking lessons from my director for theory, and I'm putting in a solid effort.

Is this normal?

If it was a regular job I'd be fine, but memory is such a big deal here - we look at huge wiring diagrams with hundreds of components (breakers/relays/fuses/cables), each with their own settings, own data blocks, etc, and it gets hard at times to remember so much. I had no formal training
How common is it for an entry level guy to get fired? I'm afraid..

 

[Ronstang]

It's common for a new anything to do a lot of messing up on their first job with no experience. Believe it or not the things you learn from screwing up are far more valuable than that things you learn out of a book in the long run. If you aren't breaking shit you aren't learning anything.

 

[Rumpltzer]

Some engineers are really bright. Some engineers have a lot of common sense. Some engineers are morons. Some engineers are complete screw-ups.

In grad school, my research advisor fired several post-docs, and he asked a few students to take a masters and move on. At my current workplace, lower-quality engineers are relegated to easier sections. We had lay-offs last year, and they got rid of some. In my mind, we should fire more, but it's hard to do that in California.


Get a notebook. Carry it everywhere. Write stuff down as it's assigned to you, and you'll have no excuse about memory (even after 3 months).

Talk to your boss or find a mentor if possible. Don't do dumb stuff, and think about stuff before speaking or doing. Don't be lazy; take pride in your work; don't do half-assed stuff. Be accountable. Don't make excuses. Pay attention. Learn from your mistakes.

In my work, common sense outweighs intelligence. It's not clear to me whether common sense it teachable/learnable as an adult.

 

[gorcorps]

From the little experience I have as an engineer in the field, and watching other new engineers flounder, all I can say is this: Keep getting out there and trying new stuff. Get out there and talk to people. Talk to techs, engineers, managers, etc. People expect new folks to struggle a bit as they know you're learning. As long as you aren't really making the exact same mistakes over and over again, you're learning.

What you don't want to be is that bump on a log stuck in the chair that thinks all assignments will just be handed to him. Many companies expect you to be self lead and find your own stuff to do. It's not true in all industries, but in my experience assignments are mostly done for after school.

In short: don't worry about it. As long as you aren't ever bored, that means you're at least trying.

 

[gorcorps]

Also I forgot, which is a big thing:

Almost everybody is completely stunned at how little they actually "learned" from school after getting into the real world. School can't teach you the little details each job/company handles, so new folks usually feel quite lost when starting a real job that involves detail. Not that school wasn't useful, there's just always a very large gap between school knowledge and job knowledge... and you can't get job knowledge without actually doing that job.

It's not something that schools prepare you for properly.

 

[SeductivePig]

I just never had coursework that prepared me for this stuff - everything I know is from the job itself.

I was started off on a hard project and my boss told me that. I was entering in data from spreadsheets for relays and I had no idea wtf I was looking at. I was told to look at pictures to identify them, I literally had no idea what was going on.


In terms of theory I can understand it fine, but many times he'll just tell me that something is this way and for me to remember it. He doesn't really explain things well.


The other engineer I work with explains things EXTREMELY well and I feel that I've learned a lot more from him than my boss. It's just frustrating because the field I'm in is so technically complicated and it's made even more difficult due to the fact that there's so much detail and my memory isn't. the greatest.



The only saving grace that I have is that I continually try to learn - I went to my director asking for help and he is teaching me stuff and I definitely have shown initiative and willingness to learn.

 

[SeductivePig]

I mean my coworkers say that they never fire people unless you do something messed up, like this one guy used to steal stuff and had some sort of mental problem that scared the coworkers.

I just can't help but feel that every time I mess up, that I'm going to get fired.. my boss is an extremely nice guy though and didn't want to fire a guy that really wasn't even doing work.

 

[ncstateguy87]

I work in IT and must say that college prepared me to think and balance a lot of workload at the same time. I learned some basic skills to get me in the door, but learned from mistakes and my manager accepted that was part of the deal.

 

[edro]

It's very common for new grads to not know anything about the actual industry.
You learn as you go. The notebook idea is a good one.

 

[gorcorps]

I just never had coursework that prepared me for this stuff - everything I know is from the job itself.

I was started off on a hard project and my boss told me that. I was entering in data from spreadsheets for relays and I had no idea wtf I was looking at. I was told to look at pictures to identify them, I literally had no idea what was going on.

I will admit that I've made the same mistakes over and over but it's gotten much better now. I'm getting the hang of it but my boss's remarks are destroying my confidence; we went out on the field for data collection and he did everything as I just watched. He didn't explain anything and expected me to do the report on my own, and when I did it, a lot of it was wrong.


In terms of theory I can understand it fine, but many times he'll just tell me that something is this way and for me to remember it. He doesn't really explain things well.


The other engineer I work with explains things EXTREMELY well and I feel that I've learned a lot more from him than my boss. It's just frustrating because the field I'm in is so technically complicated and it's made even more difficult due to the fact that there's so much detail and my memory isn't. the greatest.



The only saving grace that I have is that I continually try to learn - I went to my director asking for help and he is teaching me stuff and I definitely have shown initiative and willingness to learn.

Well your boss might be a bit condescending, but IMO it's great he's having you do that type of stuff on your own. At worst, he's lazy and wants you to do it... at best, that's his way of teaching you. Trial by fire as it were. It'd be worse if he just did it all himself and not try and talk to you at all. He's trying to get you actively engaged, and he's telling you what is wrong. That's the best way to learn.

Sounds like you're active in your actions and your willingness to learn. Just keep that up and quit worrying about it. If you stress yourself out about it you might gimp your own performance with mental blocks. Sounds like they want you to learn fast which means they have use for you. All good things... quit worrying

 

[Brutus04]

Don't be a doofus and don't screw up too much; its called experience. When they start setting you down to discuss the issues then you can start worrying. Try to focus on all the things you did really well in school, etc.

 

[leeland]

I agree with the others are saying...it doesn't matter what job you get 'out of school'...

School doesn't teach you shit about that particular job...all school teaches you is being well rounded and that you can cram for a test.

Everyone starts off feeling the same way you do in one respect or another...

I have gone through two careers like that already...it takes time but you have to have motivation and drive...pushing yourself to be the best you can be.

I am always one to ask a shit ton of questions...'why did you do it that way vs this way'....'what made you think this vs that'...

I have gotten to the point that if I find something I like regarding how someone does a particular task I will incorporate it into my skill set.


Also, I don't consider myself that 'smart' where I can rattle off a definition...etc...so when I learn something new...I study and then try to teach it to a co-worker to help myself remember.

I have made my share of mistakes at work...BIG MISTAKES...but like others have said...

The only true 'expert' is the guy that has made all the mistakes...because that is where you will learn the most.


keep your head down and you will be fine.

 

[PowerEngineer]

Perhaps this helps explain my earlier reservations about some of the word choices in your resume.

I'm glad to see that you found an opportunity in the electrical power field!

Frankly, I do not expect much from an entry-level engineer for at least six months (other than signs of ability to learn). In fact, I anticipate a drop in overall productivity because of the time other engineers must spend to train him/her. I write it off as an investment in his/her future contributions.

After that, I want to see increasing contributions to useful work that extrapolate out to competent performance at the 12-18 month time frame.

Chin up! Keep giving it your best! :thumbsup:

 

[alkemyst]

those that don't make mistakes aren't working in general.

If you are a walking accident waiting to happen, then it's serious.

 

[SKORPI0]

Very common for those who are ill prepared to in a real working environment and with no experience/previous training on the task/job responsibilities given to them. Some people are just not cut out or suitable for certain things and probably have to find their comfort zone. No amount of schooling will prepare you. That why years of experience is always necessary.

Take notes and learn from your mistakes. I've been through something similar years ago. Good luck on your journey.

 

[OlafSicky]

So basically you paid for 4 years of college to prepare you for a job but they didn't. I would ask for your money back.
Taking notes is a good advice and try to study as much as you can. It may not be fun but it will help you in the long run. It counts that you want to get better but you should do that fast.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

So basically you paid for 4 years of college to prepare you for a job but they didn't. I would ask for your money back.
Taking notes is a good advice and try to study as much as you can. It may not be fun but it will help you in the long run. It counts that you want to get better but you should do that fast.

People who pay for college expecting to be prepared for a job are idiots. You go to college to get knowledge of a subject. That might help you with a job, but it's really up to you to make that connection.

If you want to be prepared straight up for a job go to a technical institute, but just knowing how to do one simple thing isn't guaranteed to get you far either.

 

[RPD]

Also I forgot, which is a big thing:

Almost everybody is completely stunned at how little they actually "learned" from school after getting into the real world. School can't teach you the little details each job/company handles, so new folks usually feel quite lost when starting a real job that involves detail. Not that school wasn't useful, there's just always a very large gap between school knowledge and job knowledge... and you can't get job knowledge without actually doing that job.

It's not something that schools prepare you for properly.

Pretty much this. Even if you change companies you'll find you need to learn a lot of new material or just how they do things.

 

[Kreon]

I screwed up through the entirity of each of my 4 month co-ops. Constantly. A lot of it was the learning curve of learning how to work in an office and getting used to being in industry. Fortunately, I had 3 awesome bosses who had me learn by doing. Which basically means making a ton of mistakes.

I expect (but hope not) that I will make a bunch of mistakes for the first few months of my actual job. Hopefully it will be doing stuff I was doing on co-op.

 

[ECE]

What power software are you using? SKM?

 

[Hacp]

Perhaps you should quit your side job and dedicate 100% of your effort into your new job.

 

[gevorg]

there is no excuse for not remembering things, +1 for the notebook suggestion

also, consider staying after-hours more often and take some reading material for the weekend whenever possible

 

[thejunglegod]

Even the "new" engineer in Prometheus messed up. So relax.

 

[rcpratt]

Sounds like you're not getting the support from your management that you deserve and require.

I don't work in the field much, but no engineer walks into the field fresh out of college and knows what they're doing. Your engineering degree is proof that you have a brain and are willing to learn. Now the learning happens. The fact that management isn't very supportive isn't very conducive to learning, but that just means that you'll have to work harder.

 

[Ausm]

Some engineers are really bright. Some engineers have a lot of common sense. Some engineers are morons. Some engineers are complete screw-ups.

In grad school, my research advisor fired several post-docs, and he asked a few students to take a masters and move on. At my current workplace, lower-quality engineers are relegated to easier sections. We had lay-offs last year, and they got rid of some. In my mind, we should fire more, but it's hard to do that in California.


Get a notebook. Carry it everywhere. Write stuff down as it's assigned to you, and you'll have no excuse about memory (even after 3 months).

Talk to your boss or find a mentor if possible. Don't do dumb stuff, and think about stuff before speaking or doing. Don't be lazy; take pride in your work; don't do half-assed stuff. Be accountable. Don't make excuses. Pay attention. Learn from your mistakes.

In my work, common sense outweighs intelligence. It's not clear to me whether common sense it teachable/learnable as an adult.

That is true in any profession.